Core skills
Every marine has access to these skills. Each core skill has 9 levels. Points are awarded for completing a mission with either a bornze, silver, or gold medal. The player will need to achieve a gold-medal rating on every campaign mission and fireteam engagements mission to max out the core skills. There are 30 points to be awarded from the Campaign and 24 from Fire Team Engagements giving the marine enough to max every core skill. Downloading the Valley of Death DLC will increase the number of points available, but these points cannot be spent after each of the core skills are maxed out. Points may be re-allocated at the main menu or after a mission for no penalty making the marine very versatile. Sprint The ability to move rapidly when assaulting the enemy and moving between defensive positions is essential in minimizing exposure to enemy fire. Each point allocated to this skill increases sprint speed by 2.5% for all classes. Upgrading this Core Skill makes your marine sprint faster. This can be very useful for rapid assaults, flanking maneuvers, and when you need to tactically withdraw. Endurance Increased endurance is essential to maintain rapid movement when carrying full combat gear. Each point allocated to this skill increases sprint duration by 10% for all classes. The amount of time you can sprint for is determined by how much endurance you have. Sprinting reduces endurance. Once you have exceeded your maximum limit you will need to rest to build your endurance back up before being able to sprint again. Crouching replenishes endurance at a faster rate than standing, and lying prone is the best method for rapidly regenerating endurance. Putting points into this skill increases your overall endurance and as such is a perfect to partner with Sprint improvements. Battle Readiness The ability to adapt quickly to changing conditions is essential in combat. Each point allocated to this skill decreases the time it takes to stow and deploy weapons and equipment for all classes by 3%. Upgrading this skill speeds up the time it takes to swap between weapons and equipment. It’s useful to upgrade if you’re playing a utility role and find yourself changing between weapons and equipment more often. Assault Rifle Handling USMC infantry are riflemen first and foremost. Each point allocated to this skill increases weapon handling with the M16A4 and M4A1, improving response times for all classes by 2%. This is a good solid skill to improve for all classes. The more points you put into this skill the better your weapon handling skill becomes when using the US assault rifles. This skill improves reflexes by sharpening up the time it takes to aim and move the weapon when firing from the hip or using a weapon sight or a scope. Assault Rifle Training USMC infantry are riflemen first and foremost. Each point allocated to this skill increases fire training with the M16A4 and M4A1, improving accuracy for all classes by 2%. This is a good solid skill to improve for all classes. The more points you put into this skill the better your accuracy when firing the US assault rifles. An essential skill to upgrade if you find yourself playing as the Rifleman more often than not, although all classes that rely on an assault weapon as back up will find more of their shots being on target. Tactical Awareness When a lone sniper can take out a whole fireteam the ability to quickly identify threats is essential. Each point allocated to this skill increases the range enemy units are successfully identified for all classes by 4%. Each point spent in this skill increases the range at which your marine can call out specific enemy targets. This is an essential skill to ensure you’re always aware of the danger you’re facing. The Scout benefits particularly well with this sill as improvements here go hand in hand with his long range vision enhancements.